


Oh My Wyrm

by AspiringFanficWriter



Series: The Pale Flames [1]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: And he doesn't know when to rest, Caretaker Grimm, Coughing, Fainting, Fever, Fluff, Grimm does not know how to handle being in love, Grimm is concerned for his little Wyrm, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pale King is a workaholic, Pining, Pre-Poly, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Sick Pale King, Sickfic, Sneezing, White Lady is only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 14:58:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20448986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspiringFanficWriter/pseuds/AspiringFanficWriter
Summary: Grimm knows he likes The Pale King more than just a friend but he can't tell if the King feels the same.Until his sweet Wyrm gets sick and Grimm discovers things he is not prepared for.





	Oh My Wyrm

Grimm enjoyed visiting the White Palace. He didn’t get the chance to do so as often as he used to, which was really disappointing, but what can you do?

The bright lights and white decorations of the palace were sometimes a nice change from the dark and fiery colors of the troupe.  
Not to mention the brightest light of them all in the palace, the king himself.

Grimm and the King have known each other for a long time, and were good friends (more or less).  
They disagreed and fought like anybody but they were close friends.

Grimm cherished that friendship but... he had other feelings for the Pale Wyrm. Feelings that were stronger than just friendship. And he didn’t exactly hide that fact either, even though it came across more as teasing rather than flirting.

Grimm would constantly make flirty and sometimes slightly lewd remarks to the king, giving him silly pet names and winking seductively. 

Most of the time the smaller male would simply sigh or huff in response, but those rare times he decided to tease back... it always made Grimm get all warm and bubbly inside. 

Oh how he wishes it was genuine when it came from the Wyrm.... maybe one day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grimm was not staring at the king...  
OK maybe he was kind of staring, but he has a good reason to!  
The Pale King had been unusually quiet and he looked exhausted.  
He was slumped over just enough for someone that really looked to notice, he had dark lines under his eyes and his face was flushed pink.  
Grimm could also hear the kings suppressed coughs and stifled sneezes way more than he should. 

It worried the Troupe Master greatly.  
Higher beings rarely got sick, but it could happen.  
He himself could fall ill, but only in really cold areas.  
He wasn’t sure how a Wyrm could fall ill, if that was what had happened. Which honestly seemed more and more likely to be the case the more he looked at the Pale King.

“H’nxt!” Grimm looked over to the sound to see the king with his sleeves covering his face and hunching over slightly.  
Grimm was about to ask if he was alright but the Pale Wyrm cut him off before he could even start talking with another stifled sneeze and a muffled coughing fit.

Grimm bit his tongue in concern. He noticed things about the king that most probably didn’t (maybe the White Lady knew but he wasn’t sure). Such as the fact that the Pale King always stifles his sneezes. He usually manages to make them completely silent most of the time, so the fact he couldn’t must mean it’s zapping his energy more then Grimm realized.  
Not to mention how painful that coughing sounded.

Grimm waited until the coughing subsided.  
“Are you okay?” Grimm’s voice was uncertain and concerned.  
“Yes.” Was the quick reply. Grimm almost winced. Now he understands why the Wyrm has been so quiet, his voice sounds horrible. Hoarse and congested.

It seemed like the king heard how bad his voice was as well, since his eyes widen slightly and a hand went around his throat rubbing it slowly. 

Grimm decided to push it.  
“You don’t sound okay.” The Pale King glared at him.  
“I am fi-hh’ngxt!” His sentence was cut short with another stifled sneeze and for a moment he was silent, his face reddening in embarrassment.  
“I’m fine...” No you’re not. 

Grimm let out a long sigh but didn’t say anything else. If the Wyrm wanted to go through an entire day doing his kingly duties while feeling ill, then whatever it’s not like he cares....  
He does care damnit.

Grimm watched as the king continued on with the day. And he got increasingly concerned as time went by. The Pale kings words started slurring ever so slightly, his graceful walk wobbly and his coughing and sneezing came more often (still suppressed and stifled much to Grimm's dismay). Sometimes he would go from trying not to shiver to trying to loosen his clothes, as if he went from cold to hot.

It was nearing evening when Grimm could tell his dear Wyrm couldn’t keep going on. Considering the poor thing literally collapsed in his arms in a feverish heap.  
For a second Grimm stood almost completely still, trying to process that the King had literally fallen into his arms. (Oh the joy)

But he got his bearings quickly and tried to see if the king was okay(yeah, right). The Wyrm was a creature that usually had a somewhat cold touch to his outer shell, but now he felt warm. Even for someone like Grimm who was always running a little hot due to the flames inside him, could tell the Wyrm was burning up. 

Grimm panicked a little, they were alone so he couldn’t ask for help and he wasn’t quite sure what to do right now. He kind of just stared at the Pale King trying to come up with something, until he felt the Wyrm move and a small sound coming from him.  
“Hih’nxght!” A few coughs followed and something in Grimm just clicked.  
He picked the king up, bridal style, into his arms and walked towards his room.  
Grimm tried not to think about how thin and light (lighter than he should be) the other male felt, he hoped the Wyrm ate regularly or he’d have a serious talk with him.  
“M’fine..” The Wyrm mumbled as he shivered. Grimm just shook his head and walked out of the room.

The first thing he saw when exiting the workshop was one of the great knights(the green one, Grimm knows her name is Isma), who understandably, seemed alarmed at the sight of her king in the arms of a nightmarish (but well known) bug while looking very ill.  
Before she could attack him however, he quickly explained that the king was unwell and that Grimm was only taking him to his room. Which seemed to calm her down, Isma tells him she shall walk with them, he doesn’t mind as she is probably just coming with to protect the king if need be. But he could protect him too, if he wasn’t carrying him that is.

When they finally arrived to his room Grimm wasn’t surprised by how big it was. The bed was also really large, presumably so the White Lady could fit(Grimm didn’t want to admit he was a little jealous). She was currently at her Gardens for a while though so it looked really spacey, especially considering how small the King himself was.  
Grimm reluctantly placed the King on his bed, he didn’t want to let go of him but he felt it would be more comfortable to lay on a bed instead of someone’s arms.

Placing a claw on the Wyrms head and neck revealed he was more feverish than Grimm first thought. He already knew he had a fever since he had felt the heat while carrying him but he didn’t think it was this bad.  
Grimm shook the other male softly, trying to catch his attention.

“Are you still ‘fine’?” Only a few poorly stifled sneezes and coughs were the answer he got. The Wyrm was clearly shivering but otherwise didn’t move, he had a glazed over look in his face. Grimm took it upon himself to throw a blanket over him, gently and carefully.  
Grimm decided not to undress the King, even if he did imagine it in his head. 

Grimm watched over the pale king as he slept, which didn’t last long until the King started to move around fitfully in his sleep and mumble incoherent sentences.  
Was he having a nightmare? Was that possible? Grimm didn’t ponder over it and gently shook the Wyrm awake.

The King woke slower than expected (maybe it wasn’t a nightmare?) but he seemed groggy and out of it. He sneezed three times(again stifled... cute but, how and why?) and coughed before he seemed to really notice that Grimm was with him.

The Pale Kings eyes narrowed slightly at Grimm but he didn’t say anything. Only groaned quietly and rubbed his head and throat.

“How are you feeling?”  
The King only hummed a low rumble that quickly turned into a harsh coughing fit. Grimm patiently waited for it to be over before repeating his question. He knew it was obvious how the pale king was feeling, but he wanted to check if he was you know, all there.  
The King just looked at him with glazed over eyes, or rather through him? It was hard to tell. 

“What do you mean?” The Wyrms words were slurred and congested. “I’m fiiii-h’nxt!...iiiine.” Grimm didn’t know whether he should smile at the adorable and slightly pained smile the usually serious King had plastered on his face, or if he should shake his head in disappointment at the badly told lie. 

“I totally believe you sweetie.” The sarcasm was heavy with that one, but the sick Wyrm didn’t seem to catch that. The King let out a small and weak ‘yay’ before again collapsing into Grimm. Semi-conscious.  
Damn it if Grimm wasn’t having a hard time with this, two times in one day had the Wyrm fallen into him and his heart could just not take this. He had to restrain himself from openly saying ‘Awwww’.

“If you wanted to be close to me darling, you need only ask.” Oof he would let that Pale baby step on him if he asked... okay that sounded weird but whatever. 

The King mumbled something into his chest.  
“What?” Grimm lifted the Wyrms chin gently so he could hear what he was saying, still concerned about the heat radiating from his shell. He should really get something to cool him down.

“You’re so... warm.” The King snuggled closer and Grimm swore his heart skipped a beat.  
“So are you, which is why you shouldn’t cling to too much heat.” Reluctantly Grimm tried to softly pry the Wyrm off of him, for as much as he adored the close contact, he knew it couldn’t possibly be good for the smaller male in the long run.

“M’cold.” He let out a cough and shivered before snuggling closer again.  
“What happened to ‘I’m fine’?”  
“M’cold and fine.”

“I suppose I could let you stay close... but only for a little bit, it wouldn’t do if you overheated.” The King presumably tried to give a content sound but it came out like a congested gurgle instead. 

“Just try to sleep, my light.” Grimm stroked the Kings face until he fell asleep. He really needed something cool to put on his head already. Maybe if he managed to call a servant... he’d have to leave his sick little Wyrm alone to do that though. 

Oh well he will be quick anyway.

Before taking a quick run outside the room, he felt the urge to kiss the kings cheek or something. Was that even ethical? He decided against it, knowing that if he was ever going to kiss him, he wanted the Wyrm to consent to it. 

After coming back with a cold cloth(thanks random servant for your help), he gently placed it on top of the Wyrms head, right above his eyes where he felt the warmest. The poor thing let out a sigh of relief in his sleep, indicating that he really did need to cool down. 

Grimm decided to stay with him until he was well again, however long that would take.  
The Wyrm has multiple bouts of painful sounding coughing fits and Grimm tried his best to ease the pain by gently rubbing his chest, but it sadly didn’t seem to work all that well. 

When it calmed down long enough for Grimm to relax, he walked over to the large bookshelf inside the room in search of something to do (other than staring at a sleeping Wyrm, not that he couldn't do that for hours). He wasn’t sure what to pick so just took a random book about... flowers? Oh well might as well, right? It could be interesting.

He was only twenty pages in when Grimm’s attention was snapped away from the book by the sound of a sneeze coming from his side.  
“Heh’ngxt!” The Pale King was still laying down, sleeves covering the lower half of his face lazily.  
“I would bless you, but with me to take care of you I’d say you’re already blessed.”  
The now warm cloth had slid off his face, it’s usefulness now gone. Grimm should’ve asked for some water to keep it cool. Placing a claw on his forehead revealed that he was still burning up and that Grimm really was an idiot for not thinking it all the way through. Maybe not so blessed after all, oops.

Grimm went to stand up to get a bowl of water, when he suddenly felt a claw grab a hold of his wrist.  
“Stay.” The Pale King’s voice was still very congested and hoarse to the point it was hard to believe he usually had an angelic sounding voice(at least Grimm thought so).

“I’m only getting some water my sweet Wyrm, you can wait.” The King shook his head slowly and gave Grimm a look he could only be described as ‘heart shatteringly adorable and how can I say no to that face?’.  
But Grimm stood his ground and carefully moved the others hand off of his wrist.  
“It’ll only take a second.” 

“But I-cough-love you and I don’t-cough-want you to leave-cough-me alone.” Grimm’s heart did a double take. At first it was hard to process what had been said with all the coughing but he had definitely said ‘I love you’.  
Grimm knew he had feelings for the Wyrm, strong feelings but did he love him?

When he thought about it...

Grimm felt more at home with the Wyrm then anywhere else for starters, even with his troupe, his family. Being with them felt like he was always with the family doing fun and stupid things when they weren’t preforming, but with the Wyrm... It felt warm and cozy, like he could be safe and comfortable even if the place they happened to be was in Deepnest or something.

Just thinking about him could make Grimm’s heart flutter and seeing him smile made him feel fuzzy and happy inside and he would be grinning like an idiot, but being away from him hurt. 

Or how patient he was with him. Grimm didn’t care how long it took the Wyrm to understand or do something, he just enjoyed spending time learning or teaching with him.

Grimm loved the quirks the Wyrm had that he would never show when he was doing business or working. Like how he would sometimes tug a little on the base of his crown when he’s nervous and how he would stick out his tongue just a little when he was very concentrated. Grimm loved how he would only truly giggle if the joke was very stupid or dark and how he would tilt his head just a little to the side when he was confused.

Grimm never grew tired of spending time with the Wyrm. Even if the King was stressed out and being snappy or just didn’t talk to him that much, Grimm was content just knowing he was with him. It always feels better when Grimm’s with him.

The days where Grimm knows he will get to see the Wyrm, he wakes up happy simply because he knows he’ll get to see him.

As if the Wyrm wasn’t already gorgeous enough in his eyes, he was even cuter while sleeping. (It sounded a little creepy, but Grimm really did mean it.)

Grimm never doesn’t want to listen to what the Pale King has to say. Even if it’s something that’s usually boring like a business meeting, Grimm will listen like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

Grimm knows that even if he were to cry or yell or be weirdly happy in front of him, the Wyrm wouldn’t stop wanting to be his friend and that meant the world.

Grimm has always been someone that likes to be flirty with other bugs, but ever since he started feeling things for the Wyrm, he’s only had eyes for him and never looked twice at other random bugs trying to get his attention.

When Grimm sees something, he will always think about how happy it would make the Wyrm rather than how happy it would make himself.

Those few rare times they had hugged, the world around them slowed down and everyone seemed to disappear leaving just the two of them.

The Wyrm invades his thoughts practically all the time, if Grimm is trying to get something done his thoughts will suddenly wander off into the pale light and then all he can think about is him.

His happiness means more to Grimm than his own.

...

Grimm’s eyes widen. He didn’t just love the Wyrm. He was in love with him. Hard.

But did the King really feel the same? He said ‘I love you’ but that could mean as a friend, and he was also still feverish so it could just be that. He was married and all too so it was unlikely... unless polygamy was a thing with higher beings. Which probably wouldn't be a first... 

“I-I’ll on-only be-be gone f-for a l-l-little while.” Why did he have to stutter!? He never stuttered! So embarrassing.  
Grimm quickly removed the Wyrms hand and prayed it hadn’t hurt as he practically bolted out of the room and away from the sudden train-wreck of realization and emotions. 

Once outside the room, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Trying to calm himself down. He knew he had feelings that went deeper than friendship, but he always told himself it was a strong crush... but he can’t deny it anymore.

He’s in love... 

If someone were to ask how exactly he knew, he could only say ‘I just know’. And if someone were to ask what he loved so much about the King he could probably make a list so long it would go outside the borders of Hallownest. 

Grimm tried to shake the thoughts off so he could focus on getting that damned water already but they didn’t leave.  
He just sighed and hurriedly walked off to get someone to fetch the water.

When he came back, the Pale King had dozed off again. This time he was curled up on his side clutching a pillow. Grimm felt bad for rushing off like that but how was he supposed to keep cool when he just realized he was in love?

He took the warm cloth and dipped it in the water to make it usable again before gently placing it on the Wyrms head and softly stroking his face with it. All the while his mind was swirling with so many thoughts and confusion.

Grimm stayed up all night making sure the Kings fever went down. He wasn’t sure if word had made it around the palace that the Pale King was ill or not considering he couldn’t really differentiate the servants so most of the time he didn’t know if it was the same bug or not that came in to check if they needed anything every 10 minutes. 

Grimm was so relieved when the fever broke during the night that he could’ve shed tears, he hated seeing the Wyrm in pain(even though he enjoyed taking care of him).

When morning came, the Wyrm awoke looking better but still not quite healed yet. As he demonstrated by his mini sneezing fit and coughing. He looked around the room with a confused look on his face and tilted his head slightly to the side when he locked eyes with Grimm. Grimm has to bite his tongue so he wouldn’t suddenly burst out into a love confession right then and there.

“What happened?” His voice still sounded sick and Grimm handed him some tissues, although the Wyrm seemed a bit embarrassed at that. It was adorable.

“You’re sick.” Grimm tried to keep a straight face but he doubted he managed it when he still felt so concerned.  
The King deadpanned and gave him an unimpressed look.

“I mean how did I end up here?” That head tilt again, it was going to be the end of Grimm.  
“I was working...”  
Grimm didn’t feel surprised if the Wyrm couldn’t remember much of yesterday but he didn’t know if he felt grateful or disappointed by that.

“You mean you don’t remember anything that happened after you collapsed?” The Pale Kings eyes widen in absolute shock.  
“I collapsed?” The last part was really quiet, like he was talking to himself and not Grimm.

“You’re really congested, I can barely understand you here. Seriously use the tissue I gave you. And drink this glass of water.” Grimm stared straight at the Wyrm even though it was probably making the other male uncomfortable but he couldn’t help it. 

The Wyrm did as he was told with a glare, most likely because he disliked being ordered to do things. But he probably didn’t enjoy the feeling of congestion so he complied.

“Can you tell me what happened now?” His voice had cleared up a little but it still sounded rough. Grimm couldn’t wait until it went back to the angel like voice he was used to hearing.

“I mean, you just kind of collapsed and became a little delirious. But I took good care of you so don’t worry.” Grimm tried to wink and be playful but it definitely wasn’t the same as he used to.

The Pale King face palmed.  
“Did I say or do something I should know about?” Grimm tensed at that question.  
“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, did I say something weird?”  
Grimm could tell him about the whole ‘I love you’ thing... but what would happen if he did?

“Uhhh... no. No you didn’t say anything weird, you were pretty much passed out most of the time.” The Wyrm seemed to accept that answer and left it at that.

“Thank you.” Grimm looked at the King with a confused expression.  
“For what?”  
“For taking care of me.” The Wyrms face flushed over slightly. Grimm knew the Wyrms pride didn’t like being seen as weak so just hearing those words made Grimm light up inside.

“It was no problem, that’s what friends are for.”  
“Yeah, I guess.”  
His smile was enough to light up and brighten Grimm’s day, he just wishes he could tell him how much he truly loves him.

‘If only you knew my dear Wyrm... That my feelings go so, so much deeper than that.’


End file.
